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Impact USA 2017, they did it and they loved it!

Last week marked the end of the 2017 edition of Impact USA. Throughout the 10 week program, our team had the opportunity to work hand in hand with the most promising French tech startups that all face the same challenge: establishing themselves in the fiercely competitive U.S. market.

Over 400 business meetings were secured throughout the program, a dozen contracts were signed and more are pending! More than 30 workshops were organized on each coast, on topics ranging from marketing and sales to fundraising and human resources. Our entrepreneurs had the opportunity to participate in a dozen pitching contests and we’ve witnessed an astonishing improvement in their skills.

With the program complete, we must say that we very are proud of the 2017 batch. Make no mistake, each one of the 14 participating startups was selected with good reason: being among France’s most promising Tech startups combined with a strong growth potential in the U.S. During the 10 weeks on site, our startups continued to confirm our jury’s selection, improving week after week, meeting after meeting and achievement after achievement. They made the most out of what Impact is: an accelerator, and more precisely the most active accelerator for French tech startups according to CB Insights. The program allowed each startup to achieve in 10 weeks what usually takes a year, when launching in the U.S.

What better way to conclude the program than by demonstrating that they can stand on their own two feet in the U.S. by pitching to an audience composed of investors, mentors, partners and prospects under Impact’s umbrella one last time? That’s the opportunity we gave our entrepreneurs on both coasts during our Demo Days.

Let’s have a look back at these very special nights.

In San Francisco, after Impact Manager Matthieu Blandineau’s welcome speech, that we would like to thank once more for his tremendous work and making this new edition a success, we had the pleasure to welcome on stage Ricky Watters, former 49er and Superbowl Champion for an inspiring fire introduction speech lead by Stéphane Alisse, Founder and Managing Director of Impact. They drew an interesting parallel between the daily persistence and dedication required as football running back and as a startupper. Ricky reminds us that it’s all about giving back: “Blessings keep coming my way because I continue to give back.”

Ricky Watters

Ricky Watters & Stéphane Alisse

We also had the pleasure of hosting our longtime mentorStéphane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, the world’s largest freelancing website, where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely.

Stéphane Kasriel

In New York, Florence Tison, Head of Business France’s Tech Practice on the East Coast and Impact program lead in NY, welcomed the audience: she briefly explained all the achievements of this year’s batch and thanked the partners of the program and all the mentors without whom the success of the program and our startups wouldn’t be possible. Then, there was a fireside chat betweenErik Grimmelmann, President of NY Tech Alliance, & Reza Chowdhury, CEO & Founder of AlleyWatch, the famous media for New York startups & tech news. They both shared how New York is definitely catching up to the hype. The incredible diversity of industries in NYC combined with the city becoming a leading AI center with a strong emergence of deep tech startups, makes it a very exciting place to be in right now.

Reza Chowdhury, Florence Tison & Eric Grimmelmann

After a few words of our sponsor Pramex, by Camille Ferrier in SF & Nicolas Ferry, Managing Director in North America, in NY, the startups made great impression with their sharpest pitch delivery thus far!

Two special guest companies, taking part to Impact USA in New York and in town for business meetings, also had the chance to pitch on stage: Xooloo & eJust.

In New York:

After the introductory speeches, it was the the big moment to come on the stage for our 7 New York companies and a last one, a guest company from San Francisco.Tinyclues: AI-driven customer activation solution for B2C marketersDavid Bessis, CEO & Founder

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